Healey’s Mature Cheddar & Wild Mushroom Croquettes

“Healey’s Noble Slow Matured Cheddar recently sent me a huge slab of their award winning farmhouse cheddar to play with. What a treat it’s been. The flavour and texture profile is similar to a good crumbly Gruyere in my opinion. This inspired me to make cheese croquettes using a seriously thick and cheesy bechamel base infused with dried wild mushrooms and a pinch of tarragon. Oh my word. So good. Serve hot, dipped into homemade truffle aioli and there will be giddy smiles all round…”

Place the milk, dried mushrooms, onion, bay leaves, tarragon and peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Heat gently, until milk almost starts to boil, remove from the heat immediately and cover with a lid and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

Strain the milk and pour into a jug. Discard all the infusion ingredients. Optional: squeeze excess liquid out of hydrated mushrooms and finely chop. Set aside.

In the same pot, heat the butter until bubbling, whisk in the flour to form a thick roux then add the warm infused milk while continuously whisking. It will become thick quite easily. Remove from the heat when the thick sauce starts to bubble. Add the cheddar and egg [and optional chopped mushrooms] and season to taste.

Spoon mixture into a medium bowl and chill in the fridge until cold and very thick ( 1 hour will do the trick).

Lightly flour your hands with some seasoned flour and using a teaspoon for scooping, roll the mixture into +- 40 small balls. Chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Dust the balls generously in seasoned cake flour then dip into beaten egg followed by a generous coating of breadcrumbs. Chill in the fridge until ready to fry and serve. For best results, chill for another hour or so.

Heat cooking oil for deep frying and fry the croquettes in batches for +- 20 seconds [or until golden and the filling just starts to ooze out a little].
Place onto paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serve immediately with homemade truffle aioli.

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Published with permission from Carey Erasmus | Bits of Carey

A little bit about Bits of Carey:

Recipe development | Food styling | Food Photography
Over the years, my food style has morphed into simple, fuss free deliciousness. I’m pretty versatile when it comes to cooking and styling but what I’m mostly drawn to is comforting salt-of-the-earth food that brings about a bit of nostalgia. The “eat me” factor is extremely important in my work too. My must have ingredients are most definitely fresh lemons, herbs, butter and BACON!